


Mixed Messages

by 16_windstorm



Category: The Fosters (TV 2013)
Genre: Accidental Text, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, M/M, Middle School, cheesy asf, i dont really know how else to describe it, theyre like 14 in this maybe? idk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-22
Updated: 2016-06-30
Packaged: 2018-05-15 02:20:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5767543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/16_windstorm/pseuds/16_windstorm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>JUDE: I love you</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. i love you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yay! First Fosters fic! It isn't going to be very long, probably 2 or 3 chapters.
> 
> EDIT: omg i had NO idea when i first wrote this that "Mixed Messages" is a 3b episode title omg

Just as Jude's text conversation with Connor was coming to a close, he heard the door open from the outside of the room. He jumped and hid his phone under his blanket. Jude looked up to see not Lena, nor Stef, as he was expecting, but Callie. 

"Hey, how are you doing?"

"Um, good?" he responded, not sure what to make of the vague question.

"Good. We haven't talked in a while. Gotta check up on you, it's my job as a big sister. Who were you texting?" 

"Um," Jude tried to delay her while he thought of an alternate answer than the truth, not wanting to reveal what they were talking about. He gave up quickly and sighed, "Connor." 

"You guys okay? I haven't seen him around in a while." 

Jude knew Callie had good intentions, however he was getting quite sick of her patronizing behavior. Lena and Stef's home was unlike their other foster homes, and he was thirteen now, Jude could handle his problems on his own. He didn't see the point in repeating his situation over and over again. 

"We're fine, Callie. I'm fine. I don't want to talk about it," Jude retorted, feeling only a bit sorry for being rude.

"Okay, geez," Callie replied in an overly-exaggerated hurt tone. "Sorry I care. You looked pretty upset the other day. That's all. But if you really want me to leave, I will..." Callie wasn't intentionally guilt-tripping Jude... Well, maybe just a bit. She could tell something was up, and that Jude wanted to talk. He was never very communicative as a kid, which only seemed to worsen as her brother approached his teenage years. Callie began to saunter toward the door, however she was stopped by Jude, just as she had suspected.

"Hey, wait."

Callie walked back to Jude's side of the room, taking a seat on the edge of his bed. Figuring that it would be best to not rush her brother into speaking, she remained calm and silent, letting him lead the conversation.

"How do you know," Jude began, blush becoming more and more apparent each second, "if you have a crush on someone?" 

It was hard for Callie not to smile at this, thinking back to all her childhood crushes. Her little brother was growing up! Knowing Jude probably wanted to be taken seriously, she managed to hide her grin. 

“Well,” she began, “you might find yourself thinking about them a lot, maybe catch yourself staring at them in class. If you find yourself feeling jealous when they show interest in someone who isn't you, then you've probably got yourself a crush.” 

Jude took Callie's advice and made a mental checklist. He definitely thinks of Connor more than he probably should, and he certainly was jealous when Connor first mentioned taking Maddie out on a date. But this new information only raised a different question in his mind:

“How do you know if they like you back?" Jude asked, looking down in embarrassment.

Callie took her brother’s hand. “Sadly, you can’t know until you ask. But I wouldn’t be surprised if they did like you back. You're the cutest one in your class, by far.” Callie joked. As she watched Jude’s reactions, it wasn't hard for her to come to the conclusion that Jude liked Connor as more than a friend. She had always been suspicious of the two, the way they looked at each other had always been teetering on the edge of friendly. Jude, on the other hand, was oblivious to Connor’s reciprocation. 

Jude smirked at his sister, secretly grateful for the relief of tension. However, he decided to end the conversation there anyway. Jude’s cell phone, still lying under the thick comforter, was probably blowing up with messages from Connor wondering where he was. 

“Whatever, I’m going to bed. I’m tired.” 

Callie ruffled his hair with a smile. “Okay, little bro. Goodnight,” she started to walk towards the door, “and hey, keep me updated.” Callie winked as she closed the door. 

Now Jude was left alone in silence. Finally, he was able to pull out his phone again. Doing so, he was instantly overwhelmed by all the messages popping up on the tiny screen. Not bothering to read the wall of text, Jude sent his friend a simple message:

JUDE: Sorry.

CONNOR: ??? where were u?

JUDE: Callie. She wanted to talk.

CONNOR: really? what about?  
Jude didn’t know how to respond. He didn’t want to lie to Connor, however he didn’t feel like opening up either.

CONNOR: u ok?

CONNOR: shit, i’m sorry

CONNOR: you dont have to answer its ok

CONNOR: please don’t leave again

JUDE: I’m still here

CONNOR: thank god

CONNOR: u ok?

JUDE: I just don’t want to talk about it

Jude sent this text, however he didn’t receive the quick response he was expecting. His body tensed up with fear that he might have said something wrong. 

CONNOR: sorry, my dad is yelling at me to go to bed

Jude exhaled a sigh of relief.

JUDE: Ok. See you tomorrow?

CONNOR: see u tomorrow

 

With his conversation with Callie in mind, Jude typed out a risky message. He could never send this message, of course, as it could cost him a friendship. 

JUDE: I love you. 

Jude’s thumb hovered over the send button, however he quickly moved it away. With a frustrated sigh, he threw his phone to the end of the bed. He felt stupid. His best friend, male best friend for that matter, would never like him back. There was even a possibility of Connor not approving of his sexuality! Jude patted around the sheets for his cellphone, and once he found it, he picked it up, checking one last time for any messages from Connor. Their message board remained almost the same as before, however one new message appeared at the bottom.

JUDE: I love you.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> damn me!!!! back at it again with not updating for like 6 months!! (also back at it again with the dead memes) anyway i hope you enjoy and SORRY it's so late. and ya i've decided that this is gonna be 4 chapters in total because y'all know i won't make it through an entire like 18 chapter fic.

Jude’s eyes went wide as he double-checked the screen. The message had sent?! He internally scolded himself for being so dumb. He searched the application for a way to unsend the message, but he found none. He set his phone down on the nightstand. Just looking at the device overwhelmed him with panic and stress, so he decided to sleep.

All night Jude tossed and turned, imagining all of the possible ways Connor could react. Every couple minutes he would check his phone for any sign of his friend receiving the text. As his body caught up with him, Jude eventually grew tired of this routine and fell asleep.

\--- 

The alarm snapped Jude out of his lethargy and he rose his head from his pillow. Remembering last night’s events, his temporary state of relaxation and drowsiness lasted shorter than usual. He hastily grabbed his phone and opened it. Not to his surprise, a familiar line of text reading, “Read 7:35 AM” popped up under Jude’s previous message. Usually Connor would respond right away, however this time no speech bubble indicating that he was typing appeared. Of course his best friend was confused. 

“Jude! Hurry up and get down here! We’re leaving in two minutes,” Jesus called from downstairs. 

He haphazardly threw his phone into his backpack and started down the stairs. After quickly eating breakfast, all five teenagers began the short trek to school. Jude walked behind the others, not wanting to get involved with whatever Mariana and Jesus were bickering about. Callie stayed close to the twins while Brandon walked alongside him. From the corner of his eye Jude could make out Brandon eyeing him carefully. Despite never getting involved, he always seemed to see right through the other four kids. Jude guessed it had something to do with being the oldest. As they approached Anchor Beach, Callie hugged Jude goodbye and they parted ways. Being the only one in middle school, Jude set off alone. 

There was a tree that the two boys usually met at in the morning, outside, in front of the lunch tables. Jude pondered skipping this ritual and going straight to his classroom. There was also the possibility that just pretending nothing had happened would clear up the situation much quicker than outright shunning his best friend, but Jude was never one to use rational thinking in problematic situations. So he just decided to keep his head down and walk quickly toward his locker. 

“Hey! Jude!” He froze in panic. Connor wasn’t at the tree spot either? Jude’s head instinctively turned around and he was facing his best friend.

“Sorry I was late, my alarm didn’t go off and my dad never woke me up! I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long,” Connor explained as he caught up with Jude. Although he was acting normal enough, Jude couldn’t shake the thought that his best friend/crush just read his declaration of love. He said nothing in reply and kept walking towards their classroom.

“Hey, what’s your… problem.” Connor’s voice quieted as he realized the reason behind Jude’s frustration. “Hey! Wait up!” Connor ran to catch up, and the two boys entered the classroom together. 

“Okay, take your seats!”

Connor checked his watch. Sure enough, it was exactly eight o’clock. He would just have to talk to Jude later. 

“Grab a pair of goggles and find your partners, today’s lesson is going to be a lab!”

Jude sat waiting for Connor with his head down, acting aloof. Perhaps if he acted as if last night’s accident was no big deal, his attitude would rub off on Connor and everything would just blow over.

The two sat in silence during the few minutes it took them to set up, however after settling into their work the absence of their usual friendly conversation grew more and more uncomfortable. Mostly to Connor. Jude still believed that not talking was one-hundred-percent in his best interest, however the “elephant in the room” still remained, making him appear just as uneasy as the boy sitting next to him. 

“So, about that, uh, text last night…” Connor began.

Jude froze, for a second, before going into panic mode, cutting Connor off with a fast excuse. 

“It was an accident! I meant to send it to my moms!”

“At eleven o’clock at night, Jude? While they were in the house with you?”

Jude looked away from his friend, guilty and without a comeback. 

Connor turned to his friend, who had gone silent. Had he pushed to much? 

“Hey, it’s okay. Dude… we’re still best friends. Even if you love me, or whatever. I love you too.”

Jude looked up, stunned. That was definitely not what he was expecting to hear from his best friend, but was it what he wanted to hear? He had probably just meant that he loved Jude as a friend. Jude looked over to Connor, who had gone completely stoic, focusing on their classwork.

“Okay, class! Clean off your desks and pack up! We’re out of time for today!”

Jude figured their conversation was over and the two followed their teacher’s orders in silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ugh i hate my endings but i finished this at 1am i'm too tired to care


End file.
